F&H: Childhood

Question 1

childhood is not a fact, instead it is what?

Answer 1

a social construct - something that is defined by society. Everyone experiences it and defines it differently.

Question 2

what is a typical, positive experience of childhood in a Western country

Answer 2

spoilt, protected from ‘adult knowledge’. concept of children is entirely different from concepts of adults. treated with great care, educated etc

Question 3

which sociologist suggested that the most important feature of the modern Western idea of childhood is SEPARATENESS?

Answer 3

JANE PILCHER 1995

Question 4

give 1 way/ piece of evidence of child - adult separateness in the UK

Answer 4

-we have laws regulating what children can and can’t do because they are children
-the way children dress vs how adults dress
-the unique products/services for children such as toys, food, books, entertainment, play-areas etc

Question 5

discuss some cross cultural differences in responsibilities in childhood.

Answer 5

Samantha Punch - studied in Bolivia + found that one children are 5, they are expected to take work responsibilities in the home + community
Holmes - studied a Samoan village + found that ‘too young’ was never given as a reason for not letting a child carry out a task.

Question 6

discuss some cross cultural differences in children’s sexual behaviour

Answer 6

Among the Trobriand Islanders in the South-West Pacific, Malinowksi found that adults took an attitude of ‘tolerance and amused interest’ towards children’s sexual explorations + activities.

Question 7

NAME the case study that supports the point that some children’s childhood includes their recruitment as child soldiers

Answer 7

Joseph Kony’s ‘Lords Resistance Army’

Question 8

what activities did Joseph Kony force upon the children he and his army abducted?

Answer 8

• forced young girls to become sex slaves
• forced young boys to become child soldiers, mutilate people’s faces, kill their own parents etc

Question 9

why might it be beneficial for developing countries to have the Western notion of childhood globalised (spread) to them?

Answer 9

• children would be getting educated
• children would be more protected
• better health outcomes
• help break the poverty cycle

Question 10

why could it be negative for developing countries to have the Western notion of childhood enforced on them?

Answer 10

some families will be even worse off if they don’t have the resources to make abolished child labour work

Question 11

NAME the first historical comparison of childhood

Answer 11

medieval UK - Phillipe Aries - ‘a Century of Childhood’

Question 12

what kind of childhood do we believe was normalised in the medieval era?

Answer 12

there was no concept of childhood, no separateness. children were seen simply as ‘miniature adults’. wore the same clothes, ate the same food, did the same jobs as adults etc

Question 13

how did Phillipe Aries come to the conclusion that medieval children had no ‘childhood’?

Answer 13

• he studied 15th&16th century paintings of families.
• he found that children were often difficult to spot in the paintings as their only visible difference was their height

Question 14

what is a problem with using paintings from 16/17 century in your research?

Answer 14

-we can only see the way they dress / pose, cannot observe their behaviour
-people POSE for paintings and present their best, and not always authentic, self.
-relies on the artist to paint accurately

Question 15

what did Shorter say about parental attitudes towards children in the medieval era?

Answer 15

they were very different to today; high death rates among children led to indifference + neglect. Parents were often not very close or bonded with their children. New-born babies were often given the name of a sibling that had recently died

Question 16

How did Linda Pollock criticise Aries’ conclusion?

Answer 16

she argues that its more accurate to say that in the Middle Ages, society had a different notion of childhood, rather than saying childhood did not exist

Question 17

NAME the second historical comparison of childhood

Answer 17

Child Labour in Victorian Britain: 1850s - 1900

Question 18

discuss child labour in Victorian Britain . children were seen as an economic _______?

Answer 18

-child factory workers: hard, long shifts that were no different to adults’, extremely high risk of injury, concerning diet and health of the children. children were seen as an ‘economic asset’ to families and society.

Question 19

How does Aries explain that the social construction of childhood was linked to industrialisation?

Answer 19

-as jobs moved to factories, children’s work moved too
-restrictive laws were gradually introduced during 1800s to protect children from exploitation / hardship. created a child/adult distinction.
-children began to be seen as weak, innocent, vulnerable. education increased their dependency on adults and widened the gap

Question 20

give 2 examples of changes (policies) regarding children that occurred during and since the Victorian age

Answer 20

Laws restricting child labour - children became economic liabilities to their parents
Child protection laws - defined parents as having responsibilities to their children
Minimum ages for activities like smoking / sex - reinforced the idea that children are different + separate from adults

Question 21

what 2 word phrase is used by sociologists to describe childhood / society today?

Answer 21

CHILD - CENTRED

Question 22

Give 3 reasons for a more child centred society today

Answer 22

-smaller families leads to parents investing more into 1 child than 5: attention, love, money etc
-there is a children’s consumer market
-shorter working week - more leisure time with family
-compulsory child benefit
-childrens legal rights
-growing parental fears for child safety

Question 23

what was the average number of births per woman in the 1860s compared to now? what does it mean for families?

Answer 23

1860s - 5.7 births
now - 1.7 births
move towards much smaller family sizes

Question 24

how does the evidence of smaller family sizes support the view that childhood has improved for children?

Answer 24

smaller family sizes means that - parents can afford to provide for children’s needs properly. It is estimates that by the time a child reaches their 21st birthday, they will have cost their parents over £227,000.

Question 25

what are the 3 TYPES of inequalities AMONG children?

Answer 25

gender differences
ethnic differences
class differences

Question 26

give evidence of gender inequalities among children

Answer 26

HILLMAN- found that boys are more likely to be allowed to cycle on/ cross roads, use buses and go out after dark unaccompanied.
BONKE- found that girls do more domestic labour

Question 27

give evidence of ethnic inequalities among children

Answer 27

BRANNEN - study of 15-16 year olds found that Asian parents were more likely to be stricter towards their daughters, than other parents

Question 28

give evidence of class inequalities among children

Answer 28

-children born into low income families are more likely to die in infancy, to suffer illness + to fall behind in school
-low income mothers are more likely to have low birth-weight babies which in turn is linked to delayed physical + intellectual development

Question 29

NAME the 4 ways that adults use their power to control children

Answer 29

• neglect + abuse
• control over children’s time
• control over children’s bodies
• control over children’s space

Question 30

how do adults have control over children’s time?

Answer 30

control children’s daily routines, and the speed in which they ‘grow up’

Question 31

how do adults have control over children’s bodies?

Answer 31

control what children wear, what they are fed, when they are washed, their hairstyles, piercings etc. can physically ‘discipline’ them.

Question 32

how do adults have control over children’s space?

Answer 32

children are told to play in some areas, and are forbidden from others. Surveillance of children in public areas

Question 33

What did Sue Palmer call her childhood study?

Answer 33

Toxic Childhood

Question 34

Discuss Sue Palmer’s findings in her ‘Toxic Childhood’ study

Answer 34

-poorer attention, listening skills + declining of good language in children. Huge spikes in ADHD + autism. technology is damaging child development
-more TVs in children’s bedrooms and less parental monitoring - easier access to news, pornography etc can be destabilising.

Question 35

Which sociologist studied the future of childhood, and what is his study called?

Answer 35

Neil Postman - ‘The Disappearance of Childhood’

Question 36

explain Neil Postman’s view that that childhood is disappearing.

Answer 36

-the distinction between adulthood and childhood is narrowing + blurring ‘at a dazzling speed’.
-children are getting similar rights to adults, dressing the same, and there has been an increase in children committing ‘adult crimes’ like rape/murder.
-television + the internet allow children to the ‘adult world’ without being able to read.

Question 37

How do Iona Opie evaluate / criticise Neil Postman’s idea of the future/disappearance of childhood?

Answer 37

based on a lifetime of research into children’s unsupervised games, rhymes and songs, Opie argues that there is strong evidence of the continued existence of a separate children’s culture over many years.

Question 38

which postmodernist sociologist looks at childhood in the post modern world?

Answer 38

JENKS 2005

Question 39

Summarise postmodernist Jenks’s thoughts about childhood in the postmodern world.

Answer 39

-believes childhood is not disappearing, but changing.
-rapid social change causes many relationships to become unstable, causing feelings of insecurity, which has led to adults becoming increasingly centred on their children for stability in their life.
-adults become even more fearful of their child’s safety - children seen as more vulnerable, will be even more restricted

Question 40

name 2 sociologists that speak on the new sociology of childhood

Answer 40

• Berry Mayall
• Smart et al

Question 41

what did Berry Mayall say as part of the new sociology of childhood?

Answer 41

• believes there is risk in seeing children from an ‘adultist’ viewpoint, where children are seen as mere socialisation projects for adults to mould + develop, in interest of what they will become in the future.

Question 42

what did Smart et al say as part of the new sociology of childhood?

Answer 42

study of divorce found that far from being passive victims, children were actively involved in trying to make the situation better for everyone.